Universal Images Group via Getty Images(OKLAHOMA CITY) -- A remembrance ceremony was held Saturday morning in honor of the 19th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.

The deadly bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City killed 168 people and injured nearly 700.

Governor Mary Fallin, who was lieutenant governor at the time of the bombing, offered an upbeat message at Saturday's memorial.

"It was an attack that could have easily crippled our city. It could have easily crippled our state. It could have left our people hopeless but it did not," Fallin said. "We worked together. We comforted each other. We rebuilt and today we are a more prosperous city and a stronger state."

Mayor Mick Cornett also spoke at the ceremony, during which he talked about the site's great significance.

"Geographically it is in the center of country, the center of the state, the center of the city but I would maintain this is the heart of our country," Cornett said, "As I travel I continually meet people who have visited our memorial and they want to tell me how much their lives were changed just by a simple visit to this place."